Resumo

GOES, Diogo. Contemporary Iconoclasm: Anti-Racism Between the Decolonisation of Art and the (Re)Sacralisation of Public Space. Comunicação e Sociedade [online]. 2022, vol.41, pp.105-129.  Epub 22-Jun-2022. ISSN 1645-2089.  https://doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.41(2022).3691.

This article aims to contribute to the reflection on the phenomenologies of non-identification with the cultural and artistic heritage, namely the architectural and sculptural, installed in the urban public space. Contemporary iconoclastic practices have made the political and media debate aware of the quality and pertinence of cities’ aesthetic and artistic transformations. I aim to establish possible relationships between iconoclastic phenomena, contemporary mythography and postcolonial and neo-colonial discursive ways, addressing the social and political issues underlying racism, which may be at the origin of iconoclastic practices against heritage. I conducted a selected review of the scientific literature published in the last 20 years, namely authored by Araújo and Rodrigues (2018), Kilomba (2019; “ ‘O Racismo É uma Problemática Branca’ diz Grada Kilomba”, 2016), Maeso (2016), Roldão et al. (2016), Ribeiro (2021), Santos (2003), V. Sousa (2020), Vale de Almeida (2000, 2012), Varela and Pereira (2020), and others. On that basis, I tried to demonstrate how the contemporary art and curatorial artivism within museological institutions contributed to challenging institutional historical narratives and the progressive deconstruction of Lusotropicalist discursive practices, which institute colonialism and slavery as acceptable historical inevitabilities. I found that western hegemonic thinking is based on a false ideological construction of identity, supported by an alleged moral and racial superiority, to justify pursuing a model of economic exploitation structured in cultural domination. I concluded that multiculturalism within cultural institutions, safeguarding cultural diversity and heritage interpretation in the public space, could ensure inclusion and social cohesion, develop feelings of belonging, and mitigate inequalities and violence.

Palavras-chave : iconoclasm; coloniality; anti-racism; multiculturalism; artivism.

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